Xin and I sat close on the couch in the dimly lit living room. Xin suddenly began laughing hysterically and I looked all around to see what she might be laughing at.
“There. There on the wall!”
“What? What?”
She pointed behind me. “Your shadow from the lamp. There on the wall. Look.”
I turned but couldn’t figure what she saw that was so funny. She gently placed her hands on my neck and turned my head until the shadow formed my contour with my hair-do making it look like a drawing of Mickey Mouse with his two big round ears on top of his round head. Then I laughed, a little.
“You think I should get rid of the two buns?” I asked Xin self-consciously, as if she was making fun of me because they looked so stupid.
“No. No! They are cute on you. I mean, Patty, your nickname is Lammy. That hair-do makes you look sort of like a lamb.”
“Oh, yeah?” I giggled as I reached both my arms around her neck grabbing her long black hair and pulling it in two wads atop her head, making her shadow look like mine. “Your name is now Lamb, too! You married my goofy brother. You’re Xin Lamb! Lammy Baby!” I called her that because men seem to like calling me ‘Lammy Baby’ when they want me sexually.
She laughed as she threw her hands around me making us look like a pair of lovers. Then she kissed me right on the mouth. I gasped.
“Oh, Lammy. I love you! I think I really married Paul just to get to be your sister.”
I felt as if I should pull away, but hugging felt so comforting. And a kiss is always very nice. But a chill came over me and a feeling like we were being watched. Why do I always get that strange feeling all the time? I looked all around examining all the shadows in the room to see if any of them moved or resembled a person.
Xin pulled her hands back as she started to lean away from me, but I tightened my hug around her neck and pressed my lips to her’s, kissing her with the same passion I would kiss a man. Well, even more passionately.
“Lammy!” Xin whispered pushing me away. “I don’t mean like that.”
I leaned back on the couch not saying anything, but feeling quite embarrassed. Did I just ruin another friendship? Maybe that’s why my formula is F + F - F. Get a friend, lose a friend.
Another tear swelled in my eye as I felt such a fool. Then I heard something behind us.
There was a shadowy figure standing in the doorway holding something. Was it an ax? I screamed. Xin jerked as if shocked by electricity. The shadow figure of a girl then rushed toward me with the ‘ax’ above her head as if she was going to strike me with it. Xin leaped to her feet and ran to the light switch, turning on the bright ceiling light.
Lambkin stood beside me with a plastic toy Star Wars light saber in her hands. “Mommy, my light burned out.” It was just a flashlight attached to a long white plastic tube.
I tried to speak, but my mouth just flapped and no intelligible words came out at all, just gibberish sounds because of my verbal apraxia when I’m scared or nervous.
“The batteries died, Wendy.” Xin said to Lambkin. “We’ll get you new ones in the morning.”
“I can’t sleep unless my light sword is on and beside me in bed. I get scared.”
Xin walked toward the kitchen. “I’ll see if there are batteries in another flashlight that will work until we can buy some fresh ones.”
“I’ll take her to bed.” I finally spoke, but still feeling shook up after that scare which reminded me of the dream I had while napping in the afternoon.
As I tucked Lambkin in bed, she asked, “Why are there tears in your eyes, mommy?”
“You scared your mommy, Lambkin.” I said as Xin came in with batteries and put them in the toy sword. I flipped off the light and Xin turned on the light saber. Xin and I kissed lambkin on the cheek.
“Why were you guys kissing?”
We glanced at each other for a brief moment of silence. Then I said, “We love each other, just like we both love you, baby.”
We both quickly walked to the door to get out of the situation as quickly as possible when
Lambkin said, “But you don’t kiss me like you guys were kissing.”
“Go to sleep, baby!” I said closing her door.
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